- (1.) All the aforementioned writ petitions have been filed by the petitioners against a common order dated 7th May, 2002. The petitioners were by this order fixed in the pay scale of Rs. 7500-12000 w.e.f. 1st July, 1998 subject to the condition that they would be required to refund the excess amount received by them pursuant to payment of their salary in the earlier pay scale. The petitioners have also challenged the notification dated 7th August, 1998 prescribing thereby pay scale No. 12-A i.e. 7500-12000 for the post of Vice Principal held by them and have prayed that the same be declared illegal and struck down as being violative of Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India. The petitioners have prayed for a further direction that the respondents be restrained from making any recovery from them pursuant to their orders dated 7th May, 2002 and 17-6-2002 and if any recovery is made in the meantime, they may be further directed refund such amount 12% p.a. Since all these writ petitions raise a common question of facts and law, they are being taken up together and disposed by a common order.
(2.) The petitioners were initially appointed on the post of Senior Teacher (Lecturer) and were thereafter promoted on the post of Vice Principal. Some of them were promoted when the salary of the post of Vice Principal was paid in the pay scale of Rs. 2200-4000 (scale No. 16) but subsequently this pay scale was revised to Rs. 8000-13500 w.e.f. 1-1-1997. In order to appreciate the controversy better, the details with regard to initial appointment, and subsequently promotion and revised pay fixation of the petitioners are disclosed in the petitions are being detailed out in the following chart : See Table
(3.) The aforequoted particulars would show that some of the petitioners promoted to the post of Vice-Principal were fixed in the pay scale of Rs. 2200-4000 but when the aforesaid scale was revised by the Rajasthan Civil Services (Revised Pay Scale) Rules, 1998 (for short "the Rules of 1998") to the scale of Rs. 8000-13500, their pay was fixed in the aforesaid revised scale from various dates. In the case of some other petitioners however also this would be evident from the aforesaid chart that their pay fixation was also made in the pay scale of Rs. 8000-13500 from a date much earlier to the issuance of the notification dated 7th August, 1998 prescribing thereby the new pay scale of Rs. 6500-10500 as scale No. 12-A w.e.f 1-7-1998. The respondents however by their notification dated 7th August, 1998 promulgated the Rajasthan Civil Services (Revised Pay Scale) (Vlth Amendment) Rules, 1998 w.e.f 1st July, 1998. In fact this notification in so far as it is relevant to the present case provided for the scale of Rs. 8000-13500 as senior scale to those in the entry scale of Rs. 6500-10500, which was revised to 7500-12000 upon their completion of 8 years service in the entry scale provided they possess Post Graduation degree. In the case of those who did not possess such degree however their pay scale continued to remain 6500-10500 (Scale No. 15). Scale of Rs. 7500-12000 (Scale No. 12-A) was provided as their senior scale after they had completed ten years of service and thereafter scale of Rs. 8000-13500 (Scale No. 13) was provided as selection scale after they had completed 8 years service in senior scale.;